Sticking the Landing: Top Mistakes to Avoid for the Best Landing Page Design

You've built your business, your website, your ad campaigns and now you're waiting for your leads to roll in. And waiting. And waiting.

You're getting clicks to your page, but no one's converting. How frustrating is that? It can make you want to pull your hair out.

And the issue is probably not your ad copy or your products - it's your landing page. It's either unclear, the CTA is confusing, or it's not well-designed.

Think this may be behind your lack of leads? Check out our tips for the best landing page design below.

You Have Too Many CTA's

We all know that your landing page needs to have a call to action. Note that we said "a" call to action, singular. We see too many pages that have a confusing structure for users.

There are buttons everywhere. Shop now, click here to get a free trial, sign up for our emails. It's unclear what action the page owner wants the client to do.

Don't make it confusing. If you have a landing page that drives sales, only have a shop now button. If you have a landing page for email subscriptions, make it obvious where someone should add their information.

Each landing page can have a different CTA, which gets leads from a different ad. Make the button obvious and show that doing that action will add value.

Many sites that are subscription based offer a free digital product when you subscribe. Instead of their CTA button saying "subscribe here", it should say "get the free PDF now!"

Your Landing Page Isn't a Continuation of Your Ad

The landing page that ad goes to shouldn't start with "Twine" as the first header. It should say, "The Best Materials to Make a Wreath".

It's a really simple thing, but a lot of people don't think about it. If you just start listing items or start the blog post - how does that person know they went to the right page?

Especially because it's unlikely they'll actually read what you type - they're going to scan it. A clear title and well-divided headings make that reader happy.

Choosing Bad Images

Let's say you run an ad that has text on one side and a photo of someone on another. They're both on a clean background and the person is looking straight "at" the reader, or straight ahead.

Now, the user is looking at the person, which is the wrong side of the ad you want them to pay attention to. But what if you chose an image of a person who was looking in the direction of your text?

Then the user is going to follow the model's gaze and look where they're looking. Now they're much more likely to read your ad copy and find out what you made the ad to promote.

This could be as simple of asking your models to turn one way and the other, so you have options when it comes to graphic design. If you use pre-made images, look for ones that show some sort of profile - and place the text where they're looking.

We have proof of this from what marketers and scientists call heat maps. Heat maps track where people look first and the results match what we just told you.

Your Landing Page Isn't Clear

Let's say you run an ad that says "House Cleaning Professionals". That ad takes you to a landing page that has a smiling woman and a clean house, but nowhere does it say "House cleaning services".

The graphic designer assumed the user would make the assumption of what services they offer. And maybe they will - but maybe they'll click away too.

Or worse, maybe that ad leads to a page that says "Your Home Solution". Your home solution to what? Be as clear as humanly possible when you come up with landing page text. Almost insultingly clear - and make sure the text is well displayed.

Bad Typography

Speaking of text that's well displayed, you need to pick an easy to read font, in a reasonable size. We know you want to tell your website visitors all about your business, but less is more when it comes to landing page copy.

Especially on graphics. There's a rule, when you create Facebook ads, that the image can only be 20% text. That's a pretty good rule when it comes to your page copy.

If people want more information, your page menu should be so easy to understand that they can look for more.

It's Not Mobile Friendly

Let's say you create the perfect landing page. It's beautiful, easy to read, loads fast, and touches on all our tips from this list. . . on Desktop.

When you visit the same page on mobile, you find that your page menu at the bottom keeps cutting off about 40% of your screen. That is ultra frustrating to mobile users.

Each page needs to work on a smaller screen as well as it works on a larger one. Some web hosts, like Wordpress and Wix, allow you to check what the page looks like on different devices. Use that feature!

The Best Landing Page Design

When it comes to getting leads to convert, you want to make sure your landing page is a continuation of the ad. It should be clear not only what the page is about, but what your company is/does.

To have the best landing page design, your CTA needs to be well displayed, motivating to click on, and above the fold.

Finally, it needs to be just as easy to navigate on your phone as it is sitting at a computer. Ready to make your site do all that?